Internet and published reports that said the defenceman was on the trading block were described as "stupid" by an NHL source yesterday.

And Redden confirmed last night that the Senators have approached his agent, Don Meehan, about a contract extension.

Redden will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season, but the Sens have already talked about contract extensions with Redden and defenceman Zdeno Chara. Whether they sign is another story, but nobody is on the verge of being dealt anytime soon.

"My preference is to stay in Ottawa," Redden said yesterday from Kelowna, B.C., where he is participating in the Olympic orientation camp. "That is something when this Team Canada camp is over I plan to meet with Don Meehan about. There haven't been any formal discussions, but we're going to sit down and talk about all the possibilities.

"I don't think there's anything to it. I want to stay in Ottawa."

Ideally, the Sens would like to get Redden and Chara under new contracts by January.